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Max Laughton from Fox Sports activities@maxlaughtonOctober twenty first, 2026 6:04 pm
Plans for a new lakeside stadium within the centre of Canberra have emerged this month, with ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr calling for the proposed rectangular venue to also be configured for AFL and cricket matches.
Canberra Airport has proposed a city centre venue, taking inspiration from Christchurch’s new One New Zealand Stadium which opened in March this 12 months.
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The roofed Kiwi venue holds up to 30,000 fans for sporting events together with rugby league, union and football, along with holding up to 37,000 fans for different events like concert events.
It value round $531 million to construct, together with earthquake-proofing which was required given it changed Lancaster Park which was damaged within the 2011 Christchurch earthquake.
Replacing Canberra’s existing 48-year-old GIO Stadium, which houses the NRL’s Raiders and Super Rugby’s Brumbies, has been mentioned for years because of its ageing condition and placement quarter-hour out of the town centre in suburban Bruce.
“I feel sorry for those people there with the stench, it’s s**t. I know people snigger about it however we are the capital of Australia,” Raiders coach Ricky Stuart mentioned in a 2024 rant concerning the state of the venue, wherein fans needed to deal with a “pungent aroma”.
“The stadium administration are wonderful people, they accommodate us so properly. They and Canberra deserve a new stadium.
“It’s absolutely crap they don’t construct a stadium to look after Canberra’s people.”
Finding a location has proven troublesome but the newly-proposed venue on the north shore of Lake Burley Griffin would take advantage of land now probably accessible at Regatta Place, together with a portion currently leased to the Catholic Church for the Catholic Archbishop’s house.
It might also be constructed subsequent to the subsequent stage of light rail already being constructed.
A consortium of business people has proposed the venue, saying it could be completed by 2030, although they does not wish to construct or own the stadium; instead both a personal company or a government enterprise, at both federal or territory stage (or both), would wish to develop it.
Australian guidelines and cricket currently use Manuka Oval, which is in better condition than GIO Stadium, however would seemingly have to be redeveloped and/or expanded if an AFL or Big Bash League enlargement team were granted to Canberra.
At the moment the AFL’s GWS Giants and BBL’s Sydney Thunder every use Manuka Oval as their second dwelling venue playing a handful of games in Canberra each year.
The Giants regularly draw bigger crowds in Canberra than their dwelling at Sydney Olympic Park and in addition use the ACT and surrounding area as a recruiting base.
This week the ACT Chief Minister mentioned he believes adding extra content material by increasing the playing floor from purely rectangular, and permitting the oval codes to use the new venue, can be value contemplating.
Andrew Barr instructed ABC Radio the stadium would wish to carry 30,000 seats and “I believe they should additionally contemplate its configuration to permit it to host cricket and AFL. That will give another 12 events a 12 months at the very least.”
Critics say that plan would negatively affect the fan expertise for league, union and football fans pointing to the likes of Melbourne’s Marvel Stadium – which is oval-shaped however infrequently adds extra seats on the wings to create a rectangular playing floor.
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Cricket ACT chairman Greg Boorer is, maybe surprisingly, a critic saying the stadium can be better off remaining rectangular.
“I truthfully think one of the best ways forward is to have a dedicated rectangular stadium that has the 25,000-30,000 capacity,” Boorer instructed The Canberra Instances.
“Any bigger than that, it makes it more difficult. For those who incorporate that variety of seats and in addition a spherical playing floor for cricket and AFL, it turns into actually difficult.
“I believe the very best solution here’s a 25,000-30,000 seat stadium, with or with out a roof in that individual location, specifically for rectangular sports activities.
“Then, over time, a modest enhance to, say, 20,000 plus improved hospitality at Manuka is one of the best ways forward. Manuka’s an absolute nationwide establishment that we want and one of the best first-class grounds in Australia. That must be protected and preserved.
“The Australian cricket team, all the Big Bash teams, and the AFL teams love coming to Manuka. It’s an incredible location.”
Supply: www.foxsports.com.au
